Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 29 Yu Gong Mike
The workshop was filled with the smell of sweat, and the sounds of various hammering echoed in the air.

All kinds of craftsmen were working diligently and systematically in their respective positions.

Even the apprentices were thrown into the busy work.

The entire workshop is like a precisely operating machine, with each link working closely together.

The industrial prototype of Chichao Territory is quietly taking shape!

Louis watched all this and nodded in satisfaction.

This time, he had a clear goal: he went straight to the heart of the workshop and found the leader of the craftsmen—Mike.

Mike was hammering a wooden board, pretending to be busy to cover up the fact that he had just been slacking off.

When Louis approached, he put down his tools and revealed an excited expression: "My lord, what brings you here?"

“It’s time to build a castle,” Louis said, getting straight to the point without any preamble.

"Build a castle?!" Mike was instantly excited; he had been waiting for this day for a long time.

"My lord, give me fifty years! I will build you the largest and most magnificent castle in the Iron Blood Empire in the North!"

“Fifty years? I’m seventy by then, and you’ll probably be in your coffin by now.” Louis was speechless.

He suspected that Mike was a spectacle enthusiast.

Mike laughed loudly: "My apprentice Jian died, and now my grand-apprentice Jian is dead!"

Louis's lips twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but retort, "Are you the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains? Your descendants will never end."

Mike scratched his head: "Who is Yu Gong?"

Louis waved his hand helplessly: "It's not important. Let's be realistic, we don't have much time. The castle needs to be built as soon as possible. It needs to be built quickly, it must be functional, and defense is the most important thing."

As he spoke, he pulled out a castle design drawing he had made from his pocket and handed it to Mike.

The blueprints clearly marked the functions of each area of ​​the castle in great detail.

"Castles should balance defensive effectiveness, functional integration, and aesthetics, but defense is the most important. 80% of the focus should be on defense, and 20% on livability. We must never sacrifice defense for comfort."

Louis pointed to the detailed annotations on it and explained.

Mike looked at the blueprints, his expression subtle, and finally said with difficulty:

"My lord, this design is excellent... but this kind of stone fortress will take at least ten years to complete. At this level of complexity, it might take thirty or forty years."

Louis was completely dumbfounded: "Ten years? Thirty or forty years?"

He thought he had considered everything very thoroughly in terms of efficiency, but he found that his plan was completely impractical.

The original plan was to build a sturdy castle as quickly as possible, but unexpectedly, it didn't even take thirty or forty years.

Mike looked at him and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "To be honest, we still have to take it slow to reach that level in terms of technology and the number of workers."

Louis frowned, deep in thought.

The Red Tide Territory has grown to a considerable size, but it remains extremely vulnerable to external threats.

A castle is not a symbol of luxurious living, but a barrier against life and death.

The Hanyue tribe is currently in turmoil, but once unified, they will definitely move south.

Moreover, the dangers in the North are not limited to this one; there are also the Glacier Giants further north, as well as the original Snow Country rebels, and other crises.

These crises are like a speeding dump truck hurtling towards the Red Tide Territory.

Louis didn't have time to wait another ten or thirty years.

He couldn't possibly wait until he was old to move into his dream castle. He changed his question, asking, "Is there a faster alternative?"

Mike hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "Um... well..."

He looked at the hammer in his hand, then at the busy craftsmen around him, seemingly trying to find a reasonable solution, but in the end he could only shake his head helplessly.

“I haven’t been to school either, and I don’t have a very innovative mind,” Mike said with a wry smile.

Louis sighed helplessly and waved his hand: "Forget it, I'll figure it out myself."

After saying this, Louis closed his eyes and began to recall the classic architectural forms he had seen in his previous life.

The high walls of the castle, the sturdiness of the watchtowers, the imposing weight of the fortress—each building cycled through his mind, but all of these would require a great deal of time and resources to construct.

“Not good enough, not fast enough…” he murmured.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Louis's mind, like a lightning bolt piercing the silent darkness.

“Tulou!” he blurted out.

Tulou, he remembered that kind of architecture from his hometown in his previous life.

That was a unique dwelling built by the Hakka people to escape war. It was surrounded by walls on all four sides, sturdy and durable, and had a large capacity, capable of accommodating hundreds of people.

It is known as the "Ancient Castle of the East".

Most importantly, Tulou can be built quickly!

"Yes! That's exactly what I need!"

He quickly picked up the pen at hand and swiftly modified the drawings, changing the originally complex castle design into a large cylindrical structure.

Mike stood to the side, frowning. "It's all bare; it's not aesthetically pleasing at all."

Louis rolled his eyes: "Aesthetics? What's the use of aesthetics? Practicality is the most important! It can both block the enemy and accommodate everyone, that's the key!"

He touched the drawing with the tip of his pen and explained, "Look, this circular structure can disperse external pressure to the greatest extent, making it highly defensive."

Moreover, using civil engineering materials is low-cost and fast, requiring minimal time and resources!

Mike touched his hair helplessly and began to carefully examine the "castle" designed by Louis.

But he soon realized that Louis was right.

Although this "Tulou" looks simple and rugged, it is undoubtedly a practical and efficient choice.

Louis stood in the center of the artisan workshop, waving blueprints in his hand, and began to explain his architectural plans to the artisans one by one.

“First of all, the location is very important,” he said, pointing to a marked spot on the map.

"The castle should ideally be located near a hot spring area, but not too hot, as the geothermal energy from the hot springs can provide natural heating for the building."

Furthermore, in winter, we can pipe hot spring water under the floor, which will generate its own heat, keeping your feet warm in winter, just like a natural heated floor.

That way, we won't have to worry about the cold in winter.

The craftsmen stared wide-eyed, completely unprepared for such an operation.

Seeing their reaction, Louis gave a smug smile and continued, "Then comes the outer defensive wall. We'll use a 1-meter-thick stone wall to form a circular structure, plus hot spring clay, to create a central earthen wall. This will be strong enough and highly defensive."

The inner circle consists of wooden-framed houses, with massive timbers as pillars and beams for reinforcement, divided into multi-story residential areas.

The first floor was used for storage, while the second, third, and fourth floors were for living. The wooden stairs were made by cutting tree trunks into steps, which was both simple and practical.

He drew a simple internal structure on the blueprints.

(End of this chapter)